Surgical

Labor and delivery: the hospital unit where patients give birth, with its own operating room for cesarean births.

A lip of fibrocartilage around the rim of a joint socket, as in the shoulder and the hip, that deepens the socket.

A screw used so that tightening it draws two pieces of broken bone firmly together.

A thin, flat plate; most often one of the two flat plates of bone that form the roof of a vertebra's arch.

A ventilation system that moves ultraclean air in one direction, in straight lines, to make a curtain of clean air over the sterile field.

Surgery that removes part or all of the lamina, the bony roof at the back of a vertebra, to take pressure off the spinal cord or nerve roots.

Lines of tension in the skin that follow the direction of the fibers in the dermis; a cut along them usually heals with a finer scar.

A rigid telescope passed through a port in the abdominal wall to light and show the inside of the abdomen and pelvis during laparoscopy.

Done through a few small cuts in the abdomen with a thin camera and long instruments, instead of one large opening.

Surgery or an exam done through small cuts in the belly, using a thin, lighted tube with a camera.

Surgery that opens the abdomen through a large cut to reach the organs inside.

A large, flat, folded gauze pad with a radiopaque marker and a tape loop, used in the abdomen and chest.

An airway tube with a small inflatable mask on its end that sits over the larynx from above, placed through the mouth without a laryngoscope.

Surgical removal of part or all of the larynx, most often for cancer.

A lighted instrument with a handle and a blade, used to see the vocal cords so a breathing tube can be placed.

A sudden, involuntary closing of the vocal cords that partly or fully blocks air from entering the lungs.

A device that makes an intense, narrow beam of light of one wavelength, used in surgery to cut, vaporize or coagulate tissue.

The trained person given the authority to run a facility's laser safety program, from hazard zones and eyewear to training and incident reviews.

Natural rubber made from the sap of the rubber tree, used in some gloves, catheters and other medical supplies.

An allergic reaction to proteins in natural rubber latex, found in some gloves, catheters and other products.

The broad, flat, triangular muscle of the mid and lower back that pulls the arm down, back and in.

One of three patterns of break across the midface, named Le Fort I, II and III by how high they run.

A garment lined with lead or a lead-equivalent material, worn to shield the body from scattered x-rays.

A check that a device or a sealed join holds pressure without leaking, most often a flexible endoscope before it is cleaned.

The upper left quarter of the abdomen, on the patient's left, when two lines crossing at the navel divide it into four parts.

The clear, flexible disc behind the iris and pupil that focuses light on the retina; also any clear piece of glass or plastic that bends light, as in a scope.

The band that holds up the bend where the duodenum ends and the jejunum begins, in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen.

The round, cordlike ligament in the lower edge of the falciform ligament, from the navel to the liver: what remains of the umbilical vein.

A small metal or absorbable clip squeezed shut across a vessel or duct with an applier, closing it in place of a tie.

A strand tied around a vessel or duct to close it, also called a tie.

A sterile cover or handle fitted onto the surgical light's handle, so the surgeon can aim the light without breaking sterility.

A unit that makes intense light and sends it down a fiber-optic cable to a scope, a headlight or a lighted retractor.

The narrow border, about 1 to 2 mm wide, where the clear cornea meets the white sclera.

The vertical band of fibrous tissue down the middle of the abdominal wall, from the xiphoid to the pubic bone, where the rectus sheaths join.

The curved line along the outer edge of each rectus abdominis muscle, where the flat muscles of the side of the abdomen join the rectus sheath.

Surgery that removes fat from under the skin with hollow cannulas connected to strong suction.

A chemical germ-killing solution used to wipe surfaces or soak devices, chosen by the level of disinfection the item needs.

A position lying on the back with the hips and knees bent and the legs raised and spread apart, often in stirrups.

Breaking a stone in the kidney, ureter, bladder or gallbladder into small pieces, with shock waves from outside the body or energy passed through a scope.

An instrument passed through the urethra into the bladder to crush a bladder stone so the pieces can be washed out.

Instrument sets lent by a vendor or another facility for a particular case, often for spine or orthopedic implants.

Surgery that removes a lobe of an organ, most often one or more lobes of a lung.

Numbing medicine applied to or injected into one small area, so a procedure there is not felt while the person stays awake.

A drug that blocks feeling in one part of the body without making the person unconscious.

Poisoning of the brain and heart when too much local anesthetic reaches the bloodstream.

The number on a sterilized package that names the sterilizer, the cycle and the date, so a whole load can be traced and recalled.

Magnifying lenses mounted on an eyeglass frame or headband that a surgeon wears to enlarge the view of the operative field.

Removal of the lower sigmoid colon and the upper rectum through the abdomen, joining the colon to the rectum so the anal sphincter is kept.

Disinfection that kills most bacteria and some viruses and fungi, but not mycobacteria such as TB or bacterial spores.

A tip on a syringe, needle or tubing that twists on and locks, so the connection cannot pop apart.